A. The department of economic security shall employ
child protective services workers. All persons who are employed as child
protective services workers shall have a valid fingerprint clearance card that
is issued pursuant to section 41‑1758.07 or shall apply for a fingerprint
clearance card within seven working days of employment. A child protective
services worker shall certify on forms that are provided by the department of
economic security and that are notarized whether the worker is awaiting trial
on or has ever been convicted of any of the criminal offenses listed in section
41‑1758.07, subsections B and C in this state or similar offenses in
another state or jurisdiction.

B. The department may cooperate with county agencies
and community social services agencies to achieve the purposes of this chapter.

C. A child protective services worker shall:

1. Promote the safety and protection of children.

2. Accept, screen and assess reports of abuse or
neglect:

(a) Pursuant to
section 8‑817.

(b) In level
I residential treatment centers or in level II or Level III behavioral health
residential agencies that are licensed by the department of health services.

3. Receive reports of dependent, abused or abandoned
children and be prepared to provide temporary foster care for these children on
a twenty‑four hour basis.

4. Receive from any source oral or written
information regarding a child who may be in need of protective services. A
worker shall not interview a child without the prior written consent of the
parent, guardian or custodian of the child unless either:

(a) The child initiates contact with the worker.

(b) The child who is interviewed is the subject of
or is the sibling of or living with the child who is the subject of an abuse or
abandonment investigation pursuant to paragraph 5, subdivision (b) of this
subsection.

(c) The interview is conducted pursuant to the terms
of the protocols established pursuant to section 8-817.

5. After the receipt of any report or information
pursuant to paragraph 2, 3 or 4 of this subsection, immediately do both of the
following:

(a) Notify the municipal or county law enforcement
agency.

(b) Make a prompt and thorough investigation of the
nature, extent and cause of any condition that would tend to support or refute
the allegation that the child should be adjudicated dependent and the name, age
and condition of other children in the home. A criminal conduct allegation
shall be investigated according to the protocols established pursuant to
section 8‑817 with the appropriate municipal or county law enforcement
agency as provided in section 8‑817.

6. Take a child into
temporary custody as provided in section 8‑821. Law enforcement officers
shall cooperate with the department to remove a child from the custody of the
child's parents, guardian or custodian when necessary.

7. After investigation, evaluate conditions created
by the parents, guardian or custodian that would support or refute the
allegation that the child should be adjudicated dependent. The child
protective services worker shall then determine whether any child is in need of
protective services.

8. Offer to the family of any child who is found to
be a child in need of protective services those services that are designed to
correct unresolved problems that would indicate a reason to adjudicate the
child dependent.

9. Submit a written report of the worker's
investigation to:

(a) The department's case management information
system within a reasonable time period that does not exceed forty-five days
after receipt of the initial information except as provided in section 8‑811. If
the investigation involves allegations regarding a child who at the time of the
alleged incident was in the custody of a child welfare agency licensed by the
department of economic security under this title, a copy of the report and any
additional investigative or other related reports shall be provided to the
board of directors of the agency or to the administrative head of the agency
unless the incident is alleged to have been committed by the person. The
department shall excise all information with regard to the identity of the
source of the reports.

(b) The appropriate court forty‑eight hours
before a dependency hearing pursuant to a petition of dependency or within
twenty‑one days after a petition of dependency is filed, whichever is
earlier. On receipt of the report the court shall make the report
available to all parties and counsel.

11. Make a good faith effort to promptly obtain and
abide by court orders that restrict or deny custody, visitation or contact by a
parent or other person in the home with the child. As part of the good faith
effort, the child protective services worker shall ask the parent, guardian or
custodian under investigation if a current court order exists.

D. A child shall not remain in temporary custody for
a period exceeding seventy‑two hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and
holidays, unless a dependency petition is filed. If a petition is
not filed and the child is released to the child's parent, guardian or
custodian, the worker shall file a report of removal with the central registry
within seventy‑two hours of the child's release. The report
shall include:

1. The dates of previous referrals, investigations
or temporary custody.

2. The dates on which other children in the family
have been taken into temporary custody.

E. The department shall provide child protective
services workers who investigate allegations of abuse and neglect with training
in forensic interviewing and processes, the protocols established pursuant to
section 8‑817 and relevant law enforcement procedures. All child protective
services workers shall be trained in their duty to protect the legal rights of
children and families from the time of the initial contact through treatment.
The training shall include knowledge of a child's rights as a victim of crime.
The training for child protective services workers shall also include
instruction on the legal rights of parents and the requirements for legal
search and seizure by law enforcement officers.

F. In conducting an investigation pursuant to this
section, if the worker is made aware that an allegation of abuse or neglect may
also have been made in another state, the worker shall contact the appropriate
agency in that state to attempt to determine the outcome of any investigation
of that allegation.

G. Any person who alters a client file for the
purpose of fraud or misrepresentation is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. END_STATUTE